Rachid Ramzi wins in 3:30.25 in Rome (© Getty Images)
The win streaks of two of the world’s greatest athletes came to a close this evening, as quadruple World 1500m champion Hicham El Guerrouj, and Ana Guevara, the women’s World 400m gold medallist were dealt crushing defeats at the MGK-Vis Golden Gala, in the Italian capital’s Olympic stadium.
Five still in the hunt
Continuing the hunt for the $1 million TDK Golden League Jackpot tonight were seven of the 12 Bergen meet winners, and of these five were successful - Tonique Williams-Darling (400m) and Hestrie Cloete (High Jump) in the women’s events, and in the men’s Virgilijus Alekna (Discus), Christian Olsson (Triple Jump), and Felix Sanchez (400m Hurdles). Ending their challenge was Yuriy Borzakovskiy (800m) and Bernard Lagat (1500m).
Theatre at its very best
Hicham El Guerrouj who had 28 consecutive wins to his credit and Ana Guevara who had 24 races under her belt without a loss, were left as also-rans tonight at the 24th edition of Rome’s Golden Gala, in which a record 70 nations were represented.
This was great athletics theatre at its very best, as going ‘back to back’ on this evening’s programme in the women’s 400m and the men’s 1500m respectively, these two great names of the sport found were wanting in the final dash to the line.
Guevara, the happier?
Of the two champions, Guevara will come away marginally the happier. The Mexican’s time on her return from an injury hampered winter was a season’s best (49.74) but it still was not enough to be able to match Tonique Williams-Darling who had won in the first TDK Golden league of 2004 in Bergen.
The Bahamian successfully closed off her second TDK Golden League win in 49.25, a national record and season’s world lead. Russia’s Olga Kotlyarova was in third (49.77) in a personal best.
Three women under sub-50 in a race is an occurrence we expect at major championships (5 in Sydney, 3 in Edmonton, and 4 in Paris) but in a one night meeting! This race was a class act.
El Guerrouj blown away
Such has been the dominance of Morocco’s El Guerrouj in every competitive sphere except the Olympics in the last eight years, specifically setting the current World 1500m (1998) and Mile (1999) records on this track, we were not prepared to accept the obvious sign of his demise when France’s World silver medallist Mehdi Baala sped past him as the last lap bell rang.
But the bell was very much sounding the Moroccan’s defeat, as despite drawing close to the Frenchman’s shoulder with 250m to go, that was to be El Guerrouj’s last change of gear. As the race entered the final 100m, the Moroccan master began to slip dramatically back, eventually finishing eighth (3:32.64).
Up front, Baala, though continuing to run well, was himself passed by Bernard Lagat the Olympic bronze medallist but by that time the race was already in the hands of Bahrain’s Rachid Ramzi.
The World Indoor 800m silver medallist, had only last week in Alger set the world season’s lead with a 3:31.87 PB, and tonight the former Moroccan finished even better winning in 3:30.25. So after entering the summer with a best of just 3:37.26, the 23 year-old is suddenly the hottest property in the middle distance world.
Lagat took second (3:30.81) and Baala hung on for third (3:31.25), with the first ten finishers running inside 3:33!
High Hurdles, High Drama!
An originally declared dead-heat finish that finally was separated into an outright win for quadruple World champion Allen Johnson in the men’s 110m Hurdles, added further drama to what had seemed a perfect display of ‘catch-up’ racing from China’s World bronze medallist Xiang Liu.
The American got into his stride very well and had a metre on the Chinese by the second hurdle. Xiang Lui dug deep and stride by stride, barrier by barrier closed on Johnson, with the duo dipping in unison at the line. Both men registered 13.11. Science split the two, the eye could not. We could not have asked for a more exciting display of racing.
Glory Alozie of Spain after last Sunday’s national record win in Gateshead, took a close victory from America’s Jenny Adams in the women’s 100m Hurdles. In a race which was nearly as close as the men’s sprint hurdles, it was Alozie who came from behind. The Spaniard’s winning time was 12.69, with Adams clocking 12.70.
Kipketer’s back with world lead
The Golden League programme this evening had got off to an encouraging start in the “B” race of the men’s 800m (the second overall event of the meet) as Kenyan William Yiampoy ran to a short lived world season’s lead of 1:44.29, which demolished a not insignificant field. Remember this was the “B” race!
The “A” race did not disappoint, with World record holder Wilson Kipketer of Denmark, now 33 years of age, sprinting away from one of the highest quality fields of the evening to win in a marvellous 1:43.88 world season’s lead. That victory put paid to the TDK Golden League Jackpot hopes of Russia’s Yuriy Borzakovskiy (third 1:44.19), who seemingly unaware of the quality of the opposition he faced this evening, was never in the victory hunt after placing himself at the back of the field at the bell. South Africa’s Hezekiel Sepeng finished second (1:43.94).
Sanchez takes relaxed win
2001 World bronze medallist Dai Tamesue (JPN) may have come off the final bend in the men’s 400m Hurdles with an advantage over double World champion Felix Sanchez but we were not about to see a El Guerrouj demise here. Sanchez powered away and had the confidence and style to wave to the crowd as he came off the final hurdle and crossed the line in an assured 48.43. The time was a season’s best for the Dominican Republic athlete. A share of the Jackpot is currently secure in Sanchez’s grasp.
Potent performance from Pittman
World champion Jana Pittman of Australia was as dominant as Sanchez in her run over the women’s 400m Hurdles, winning in 54.04. Confusion over her stride pattern into the final hurdle courted near disaster with the Australian stuttering to a near stop. Pittman’s lead though was such that Romania's double European champion Ionela Tirlea (54.38) and World record holder Yulia Pechonkina of Russia (54.88) were never close to her even after that mistake.
Cloete wins over Sleserenko at 2.03
South Africa’s double World champion Hestrie Cloete seems as confident as Sanchez of taking a share of the Jackpot million, as she saw off World Indoor champion Yelena Sleserenko in a great 2.03 High Jump duel. The Russian with a slightly worse jumping record (second attempt at 1.98 and third at 2.03) was never quite the equal of the South African, who kept a clean score card until 2.03 which took her two attempts to achieve. The 2.03 clearances were meeting records.
Olsson 17.50
A third round 17.50m leap was enough to seal World champion Christian Olsson’s win in the men’s Triple Jump and keep his Jackpot hopes alive, with only Russian Danila Burkenya (fourth round personal best, 17.39) and Romanian Marian Oprea (17.32 which led until Olsson’s 17.50) offering real opposition in a competition which did not really come to life. Olsson’s win was his 28 consecutive victory.
Improved world lead in Steeple
World leader Paul Kipsiele Koech who entered the 3000m Steeplechase as the firm favourite having run 8:05.31 to win in Seville on 5 June, ran basically a solo effort to demolish a quality field in a magnificent 7:59.65. It was his second fastest ever performance (7:57.42 – 2003), and he is one of only eight sub-8 runners in the history of the event.
Alekna keeps in Jackpot hunt
Yet another head to head competition between Olympic and World champion Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania and Hungary’s European gold medallist Robert Fazekas, resulted in a third season’s win for Alekna over his chief rival. Including the World Championship final last summer he has now taken five straight wins over the Hungarian. Tonight the advantage was 68.42 (meet record) to 67.66, and keeps Alekna in the hunt for the TDK Golden League Jackpot.
Ethiopian Olympic selection question
The women’s 5000m was presented as the final Olympic selection race for the all powerful Ethiopian squad. A surprise result saw Ejegayehu Dibaba, the sister of World champion Tirunesh, sprint to a close win (14:37.99 – meet record) ahead of World 10,000m silver medallist Werknesh Kidane (14:38.05). With World Indoor 3000m champion Meseret Defar taking third (14:44.81), Tirunesh in fourth (14:47.43) would seem in this scenario to be out of Athens contention.
But of course we have been many times before prior to a major championship, and Ethiopian team orders usually have a way of sorting themselves out… perhaps Kidane for the 10,000, so instead leaving room for the World champion at the 5000m?
In a race of high quality, another five athletes went sub-15, including PB’s for the Kenyans Alice Timbilili (14:53.17 – 6th), and Periscah Jepleting (14:54.24 – 7th).
Edith Masai, who first declined a place on the Kenyan Olympic squad after dropping out of last weekend’s trials, came in 5th in 14:49.16. Reportedly the World 5000m bronze medallist has now changed her mind and has accepted a squad place for Athens.
Kipchoge heads Ethiopians
The men’s 5000m was taken in a meeting record by Kenya’s World champion Eliud Kipchoge in 12:46.53, with a trio of Ethiopian’s trailing in closely behind in personal bests, Sileshi Sihine (12:47.04), Dejene Berhanu (12:54.15), Gebre Gebremariam (12:55.59).
Ceplak in control
Though closely challenged down the home straight by Russia’s Svetlana Cherkasova, European champion Jolanda Ceplak took a confident and impressive win in the “A” final of the women’s 800m. The Slovenian’s winning time was 1:57.68, with the Russian second in 1:58.02. Morocco’s Amina Ait Hammou was third (1:59.31), with Ghana’s Akosua Serwaa running a national record for fourth (1:59.60).
Zulia Calatayud of Cuban who was the last athlete to beat Maria Mutola (19 July 2002) but has since been hampered by a long spell of injury, showed she is approaching top form (1:56.09 – 2002) by taking a good win in 1:59.24 ahead of Brazil’s Luciana Mendez (1:59.49) in the women’s “B” division.
The women’s 1500m brought about a Russian sweep, with Olga Yegorova (4:01.15) beating Yelena Zadorozhnaya (4:01.38), Tatyana Tomashova (4:01.69).
Lebedeva jumps 7.01
Entering the last round, Tatyana Lebedeva had already won the women’s Long Jump thanks to her second (6.87) and third attempts (6.88) but that didn’t stop her pulling out the equal second best jump in the world this summer. Her 7.01m effort dwarfed the second and third place performances of her Russian compatriots, European champion Tatyana Kotova (6.76) and Irina Simagina, the European Cup winner (6.73).
Men’s 100m was won by Ghana’s Aziz Zakari in 10.10, a personal season’s best, with Jamaican Dwight Thomas in second (10.19) and World champion Kim Collins of St. Kitts third in his own 2004 best of 10.21. Stephane Buckland of Mauritius won the 200m in 20.20 with Asafa Powell (JAM), who sped to 9.91 in the 100m last weekend, in second with 20.24, and Frank Fredericks (NAM) third (20.36).
Belarus’ Juliya Nesterenko triumphed in 11.13 in the women’s 100m.
European champion Alex Averbukh of Israel won the men’s Pole Vault, the very last event to finish tonight, in a tie-break jump-off with Richard Spiegelburg (GER) after they could not be separated on count-back at 5.67. Patrik Kristiansson (SWE) was third also with 5.67.
IAAF
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Reporting for the IAAF in Rome -
Laura Arcoleo and Chris Turner
